A Tale of Low Caste Couple

In sugapatti village there lives a couple. This couple belongs to the schedule caste called Dom (the most untouchable of all castes).  This caste is known as the caste of scavenger.  Even people of other schedule castes treat this caste as “untouchable”.  Empowerment of this caste which is reflected through better education, health and participation in social activities as well as political process is still dream for it.  People of this caste are crushed to live degraded human life.  In this backdrop when some one from this caste achieves makes achievement it becomes news.

One such event happens in ‘Phulparas’ block.  A couple communication was organized there to spread health awareness among people.  There were two prizes.  One for the best couple and another one for the healthiest child.  The best couple award was for couple who had better knowledge of family planning and reproductive child health care system and who follows it in practice also.  The couple from sugapatti won both the awards. Several couples from different castes had also participated into this contest.

The couple had learnt all about family planning and RCH through a social worker who had earlier worked in RCH project run by GPSVS.  This is not the end of story. The story starts now.

The couple was called on the stage to take prize.  Several people on the stage make protest against the same couple and physically pushed them of the stage.  Age-one feudal and costeist mentality was visible. Such treatment to same fellow human being was shame act for any civilized society.

At such critical time to be mute spectator is sin.  Social activists of GPSVS, who have always promoted the causes of downtrodden people, stood up in full support of the couple and encouraged them to come on the stage and took their prize.  They came on the stage and took the prize.  The couple makes full throat praise for GPSVS and its social activists.  This was not the prize for winning the quiz contest.  It was prize for Dalit empowerment.